The Thorn Island Adventure

by Fleur Hitchcock

And Mr Bobble Hat in the Plaice and Ships café.

  And the man they’d seen the day before cleaning the outboard motor.

  And Pearl.

  And Jake.

  Aiden watched them watching the ferry. He raised his phone to take a picture, but a lorry pulled into the harbour and blocked his view. Grabbing the map, he took out Grandpa’s waterproof marker pen and, hoping Grandpa wouldn’t mind, scribbled a quick picture of what he could remember. Big nose, bobble hat, weird toothy smile. Ordinary, fair hair, outboard motor. Pearl. Jake.

  As a method of identifying anyone it was almost useless.

  Ava steered them out of the harbour and into the open water. As they left the shelter of the harbour the sea broke into tiny blue-brown wavelets, streaks of shimmering colour racing left to right. A cormorant flapped lazily across the bay and a family of Canada geese argued over something under the water, but Aiden was too preoccupied to enjoy the sight. Instead he kept on glancing up at the lighthouse, staring at the tower and scouring the coast ahead for any sign of activity. His gaze flicked back to the café. Mr Bobble Hat had gone and Aiden’s mind ticked over. If the man in the queue with the Dalmatian was the same man that they’d met going to the lighthouse, was he anything to do with the possible kidnap? Was he working alone? If he wasn’t, how many were they up against?

  In his mind he began to put together a gang. Someone holding the boy in the tower. Dalmatian Man. Maybe the outboard-motor man. Probably others.

  By the time they were nearing the island the ferry had disappeared behind the trees that sheltered the island’s landing, and suddenly Aiden felt really anxious about his younger cousins attempting anything. Let alone his suggested diversion.

  “Ready about,” yelled Ava, and Aiden ducked under the boom, scrambling over the ladder and clutching the jib rope.

  “I’m going to try to dock up to the right there – there’s a broken jetty.” Ava pointed to a dark patch between the trees. They sped towards the tower almost hidden in the tangle of branches and roots that marked the shore.

  “OK,” said Aiden, swallowing his anxiety. He took the mooring rope in his hand and clambered on to the bow. “I’m ready – take us in.”

  Meanwhile, on the ferry, Chloe and Josh had made friends with three little dogs and bought a ninety-nine between the two of them. It wasn’t a strawberry split and Josh didn’t pay for all of it. There was no way he was actually going to buy her an ice cream. No one seriously expected you to keep promises like that – did they? Overall he thought that they were blending in very effectively, although Chloe kept patting her backpack as if she was carrying the Crown Jewels or something. He knew she was checking for the ketchup but even so, considering they were undercover, it was a bit obvious.

  The ferry bumped on to the slope of the landing slipway and everyone streamed off: half of them went straight to the café, the rest milled around making decisions and giving Josh and Chloe the perfect cover. But soon a string of cyclists left and suddenly there weren’t so many people in the open harbour. Josh leaned his bike against a bollard and swung a somersault round the metal barrier.

  “Stop it,” Chloe hissed. “We’re supposed to be invisible.”

  “Huh,” said Josh, using the topside of his trainers to brake against the paving. “You’re only six months older than me, you know.”

  Chloe didn’t reply; instead she used her bike as a weapon and shepherded Josh towards a big map of the island.

  “But I know where the—” Josh began.

  “Shhh,” she said, waving at the map, picking out all the features, the tower included, but also the outdoor theatre and the dressing-up shed, and the ice-cream stall. “We don’t want to be too obvious,” she muttered. “We don’t know who any of these people are.” She waved her arm in a circle to take in the last of the stragglers from the ferry. Josh surveyed the leftover people.

  “I see what you mean,” he said, getting out his notebook and writing a few pithy descriptions.

  Man with suit (odd).

  Woman in floral-print dress with large earrings (odd).

  Child with two ice creams (odd and greedy).

  Two men in high-vis jackets (always suspicious).

  Two women making phone calls (doubly odd when there’s no signal).

  One man with dog. Dalmatian.

  The Dalmatian had been in the queue behind them.

  He nudged Chloe. “D’you see that?”

  She nodded her head and sneaked her hand into her pocket to pull out her phone. She hummed a couple of bars of a song and took a quick selfie, then turned her back on Dalmatian Man and took two more. The man barely glanced at them.

  Good.

  “Yes,” said Josh to no one, noting in his book that the man’s ferocious curly eyebrows met in the middle and that he walked with a roll, like Grandpa Winston.

  Josh turned his back on the man and leaned against the Thorn Island map so that Chloe could go on taking photos. The man pulled on the dog’s lead and wandered their way.

  Chloe bit her lip and suddenly found something really interesting on her bike bars, but Josh wasn’t a bit worried. It was just a man and a dog. He strolled over and reached for the dog’s collar. The dog licked his hand, but the man jerked the lead, snatching the dog away. “Get off – this is a pedigree dog. Doesn’t want some sad kid hanging around.”

  “Oh,” said Josh, “I just thought he looked like he wanted a stroke.” Persisting, Josh rubbed the dog’s ears until the man grabbed the dog’s collar and dragged it away over the gravel.

  “Naff off,” he barked.

  Josh stepped back, hands raised, as the man and dog headed round past the café towards the Thorn Island Coastal Path.

  “Josh,” hissed Chloe when he had disappeared. “What was that about?”

  “I wanted to find out if he was a nice man,” said Josh, staring towards the path.

  “And?”

  “He wasn’t. He wasn’t very nice at all, and that path is the one that goes towards the tower, isn’t it?”

  Very slowly Chloe nodded, and Josh noticed that she was gripping the handlebars so tightly that her fingers had gone white.

  “We should have gone the other way,” said Josh, bumping his tyre into the back of Chloe’s bike.

  Chloe jammed on her brakes and Josh just avoided crashing into the back of her. “Sometimes, Josh, I really, really wish you’d just shut up.”

  Josh laughed, and then they pedalled on in almost silence, just the sound of seagulls and the soft hiss of the bike tyres on the woodland floor.

  “Shh,” Chloe said, braking with the soles of her trainers. She glanced at her phone again. Still no signal. She really wanted to warn the other two about the man with the dog. She looked out to sea. There was no sign of the Black Diamond – they must be behind the trees. Really close by.

  “Look,” said Josh. “The tower.” Through the dappled shade of the leaves, the grey stones and slates of the tower were now really near. From this close it was even more magical. With a pointy slate roof and leaded windowpanes it looked exactly like something from a fairy tale and, from the side they were on, totally innocent. Next to it were two sheds and a door that Chloe assumed would be the way in.

  She checked the time and looked out to sea again. Still no sign of the Black Diamond.

  “I reckon they’re already there,” said Josh. “C’mon, let’s get this done.”

  Chloe swung her backpack down to the ground and fumbled about for the ketchup bottle. It was plastic and squeezy and the ketchup was a little watery.

  “Don’t think they use it much,” said Josh. “Give it a shake.”

  Holding the lid down, Chloe shook the bottle until the red coated the sides. “Come here then.”

  “Hang on,” Josh said, and dropped to his knees, scraping through the leaf mould and summer mud. He straightened up and looked down at his legs. They were bitty and grubby and striped with gunk.

  “Excellent,” said Chloe. “Definitely makes it
more realistic. OK, time for some gore.”

  Josh watched as she carefully blobbed the ketchup all around his knee and let it dribble down to his sock. Some of it was thick and some of it was thin.

  “Quite like blood,” she said, standing back and tilting her head to examine her artistry.

  “Not bad,” he replied. “Maybe stick a bit of gravel on it? I’ve never had a really good knee skid without gravelly bits getting stuck in.”

  “Good idea.” Chloe took a handful of grit and splatted it on to the ketchup. She ran across the clearing and then turned back to take a look. From a distance it totally worked. “Try limping,” she said.

  Josh hobbled along the path, round a tall oak and back again.

  Chloe watched as his limp changed from one side to the other. “Um, you need to make sure it’s the same leg each time.”

  “I’ll stick something lumpy in my sock. That’ll work.” He sat on the ground and pulled off his trainer and sock. Chloe handed him two beechnut cases. “Ace,” he said, putting his sock and trainer back on. He tried limping again. This time it wasn’t too terrible.

  Chloe checked the clock on her phone again. “Right, five minutes until we go.”

  “Let’s go now, why wait?” said Josh, swinging his leg over his bike.

  “No! They won’t be—” said Chloe, but Josh was gone, pedalling towards the tower, then he threw himself from the bike and opened his mouth. The howl that he let rip made even Chloe jump – and she was expecting it. “Awwwwwwwowwwwwwww! I’m dead!” Josh shouted. “My leg! Awww!”

  Furious with him, Chloe pedalled over, then dropped her bike and rushed to his side. She’d have liked to kick him but instead she said, extra loudly, “Are you all right? Oh!” She shouted towards the tower. “All that blood!”

  “Argh!” yelled Josh. “Chloe – do something! I’m bleeding to death. Honestly – I’m all blood. It’s blood gushing from my leg! I’m a bloody thing!”

  “I’ll go for help!” she shouted, although with quite a large laugh. “Oh, look, maybe we can get a plaster in the tower!”

  Feeling like someone in a pantomime, Chloe pushed through the last few metres of the path and stopped by the tower, Josh and his theatrical leg staggering behind her. They both took their bikes. Just in case. Before she knocked, Chloe looked again towards the sea. There was no sign of the dinghy – that would be because they’d started five minutes too soon. Josh was such an idiot! But she’d have to knock now. Any longer and the whole thing would fall apart.

  But if the dinghy didn’t come, then there wasn’t a plan B.

  Now she was closer she could see that there were two doors. She didn’t know which one to knock on, but she imagined herself as someone with a person who had had an horrific accident.

  She knocked on both.

  On the other side of the tower Ava and Aiden were still bringing the Black Diamond into the shallow waters.

  The ladder lay folded at Aiden’s feet, but now they were getting closer it looked as if it was going to be too short. As the boat slowed they heard Josh’s terrible howl and shouting.

  “What?” hissed Aiden. “But it’s not even time. S’posed to be twelve o’clock.”

  Bella leaped on to the bow and let out a little growl.

  Ava dropped anchor. “Bet it was Josh. I knew he wouldn’t stick to the plan.”

  Thinking dark thoughts about Josh, Aiden dropped into the shallow water, his feet sinking into cold mud, as he grabbed the ladder from the boat.

  More noise came from the other side: Josh’s howls becoming more theatrical, which was when Bella decided to join in, howling and barking and finally leaping from the boat and charging past Aiden’s legs towards the familiar voices.

  “No! Bella, come back!” he yelled, but Bella had already disappeared.

  “Forget her,” hissed Ava, and together they ran forward with the ladder, extending it until the top was resting a metre below the high window. With a furious look on her face, Ava began to climb. The ladder sank very slightly into the soft mud. It creaked and made strange twanging sounds but it held firm, and Ava rose quickly past the lower windows until she was at the top. From where Aiden stood it seemed that the top of the ladder was definitely too low, that there was quite a gap between the top rung and the window ledge. It might be too big to make the ladder useful. He hoped he was wrong.

  When he opened the door Dalmatian Man was taller than Chloe remembered and heavier. Massive actually. He stood in the doorway and another man appeared behind him. He was also tall, but this man was leaner and somehow scarier. He was wearing a red vest and flexing his muscles like someone who worked out a lot.

  Chloe attempted her sweetest smile. “My cousin’s fallen off his bike – can you help? We can’t get a phone signal,” she added, looking past the men into the tower and seeing only a concrete floor and the Dalmatian. “Nice dog,” she said rather quietly. “Your dog?”

  Dalmatian Man just stared at her.

  “Yes, dog. No, can’t help,” said Red Vest, spitting just past Chloe’s foot.

  “Hey,” said Dalmatian Man, pointing at Josh who was now lying on the ground clutching at his knee. “Aren’t you that kid I saw earlier – hassling Sandra here?” He pointed at the dog who raised itself from the concrete floor and padded to the door, licking a splodge of tomato ketchup from Chloe’s hand.

  “I dunno!” wailed Josh from behind Chloe. “Help!”

  The ketchup had slipped down Josh’s leg a little, looking more like he’d bashed his shin. Josh howled again and Bella burst out of the bushes galloping round and round in circles and barking madly.

  “That dog with you?” said the man, starting to close the door.

  “Please,” said Chloe, stepping forward. “He’s really badly hurt.” Now that Bella was here she knew the Black Diamond was behind the tower, but the Dalmatian ran out to bark at Bella and followed her as she charged round the back and into a rhododendron bush that hid the creek behind.

  “What’s going on?” said Red Vest. “Something’s going on.” Shoving Chloe out of the way he clambered over the bikes and tried to follow the dogs but he couldn’t get through the rhododendron’s branches. Chloe wanted to run now, but she knew that every second they managed to slow down the men was a second longer for Ava and Aiden. Reaching for the handlebars she picked up the bikes and set them rolling so that they shot off in different directions, tripping Dalmatian Man.

  “Oh dear,” she said. “I’m sorry.”

  Bella shot back out of the bushes, ran in a barking circle and charged back towards the creek.

  “This is…” Red Vest wrenched himself free from the rhododendron and took the dogs’ path underneath. “Hey!” he shouted.

  A woman’s voice came from inside the tower. “What’s all the racket?”

  “Don’t worry about us. Sorry to bother you,” said Chloe, dragging her bike out from under Dalmatian Man and swinging her leg over the crossbar. “We’ll find a warden somewhere. They’ll have a first-aid kit in the café. Thanks anyway.”

  Dalmatian Man regained his feet and lunged towards Josh, grabbing his elbow.

  “No you don’t!” said Josh, sinking his teeth into the man’s wrist.

  “Ow!” shouted Dalmatian Man, clutching at his wrist. “You little—”

  It took about a millisecond for Josh to scramble on to his bike, all thought of the gashed knee forgotten. “Yeah, I’m fine, actually,” he said. “We’ll be on our way. Thanks for your help.” He pushed off and headed away, swinging and swaying towards Thorn Harbour, bumping at Chloe’s wheel and speeding past her across the woodland floor.

  “Hey!” shouted Dalmatian Man.

  “The little toerags – after them!” shouted the woman.

  But they didn’t turn round; they just pedalled harder.

  As quietly as she could Ava tapped on the glass.

  “Hello?” she whispered.

  The window in front of her opened and a small boy’s tear-stained face
peeked over the sill. “Hello – are you help?”

  “Yes,” said Ava. “Are you the Charlie’s Cheerful Chews boy?”

  The boy nodded. “George,” he said.

  “Could you climb out, George?” It was about then that the two dogs appeared round the side of the tower. Ava glanced down. “Like, really quickly.”

  “I-I think so,” said George, looking over the ledge.

  “Ava!” hissed Aiden from below. “Hurry.” As if Bella agreed she began to bark again, and louder.

  “Now would be good,” said Ava.

  George sat on the windowsill and swung his legs over, leaving his feet dangling half a metre above the top rung of the ladder.

  “Whoops,” said Ava, trying not to panic at the huge gap between his feet and the ladder. She folded her arms across the top, making another rung. “Use me. Come on.”

  “Oh,” said George, swinging round so that his armpits hooked over the windowsill, and his legs hung down as far as Ava’s arms. His sandals rested on her elbow and wrist and she carefully took her other hand and guided his foot down to the top rung.

  “I’m gonna—” he began, his voice wobbling.

  “No, you’re not, you’re fine, come on,” she said, getting his other foot down to the top rung. “Grab the top – we’re going to have to speed up here.”

  “It’s…” he said, bending double, balanced at the very top of the ladder. “I don’t like heights.”

  Holding his calves steady, Ava tried to keep her voice cheerful and careless. “It’ll be fine.” Cries of pain came through the trees. She hoped they didn’t belong to Chloe and Josh.

  As George started to climb down the ladder a man in a red vest broke through the undergrowth, but Aiden was ready with a handful of mud, which he flung into his face. The red-vested man staggered to one side, but didn’t fall over. Making it to the bottom, Ava and George ran past him and skimmed over the mud towards the Black Diamond. Bellowing, the man turned to follow them, but sank ankle-deep. He made an attempt at grabbing Aiden, but Aiden was now armed with a branch of rhododendron. He threw it into the man’s legs, flooring him, and sending him face first into the sucky shallows.